New reporting by the New York Times details that US officials have tracked financial data and transactions that support reports of Russia paying bounties to the Taliban and affiliated fighters for killing US and coalition personnel in Afghanistan.
The new information apparently further distances President Trump and the White House from military and intelligence agencies that have reportedly written multiple briefings on the subject for the Administration, which has denied Trump was aware of such payments.
The information reportedly identifies Afghans involved in the plots, as well as the networks used to get the funds to the Taliban-affiliated forces including an intermediary who is now thought to be in Russia. American investigators learned of the scheme through interrogations of captured Taliban fighters.